The Gracious Visitation of God

The Gracious Visitation of God

Here is an excerpt from "Grace in a World of Woe: An Exposition of Psalm 90": 

Second, we need the Lord to visit us with compassion: “Return, O LORD! How long? Have pity on your servants!” (v. 13) When we walk away from the Lord, He walks away from us. We ought to return to Him, but how can we do so when are so stuck in the quagmire of our sin? Just a moment ago I said that the burden of verses 3-11 is that we’ve got to find our way back home, but how can spiritually blind, lost sinners find their way back? What actually needs to happen is for the everlasting God to come and find us. We are stuck, but God is not stuck: He is sovereign, independent, and free. Though His wrath lay heavy on sinners, He is full of pity, compassion, and mercy. “For thus ways the Lord GOD: Behold, I myself will search for my sheep and will seek them out…. And I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries, and will bring them into their own land.” (Ezekiel 34:11, 13) The Lord is the One who brings us home! Over and over again Scripture recounts how foolish sinners forsake God, and how the gracious God visits them in order to reclaim them. And He delights to show mercy: “He does not retain his anger forever, because he delights in steadfast love.” (Micah 7:18)

This gracious visitation of God reached climactic expression in the life and ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ. When the apostle Peter proclaimed the gospel, He said: “God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him.” (Acts 10:38) And when He looked upon the crowds of people living in the harsh realities of this sinful world, “he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.” (Matthew 9:36) The divine shepherd drew near to the helpless sheep, and He sacrificed His life for their salvation (John 10:11).